


In Which Snufkin (For Once In His Life) Is Not The Pining Idiot

by DigitalThespian



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Getting Together, Good brother snufkin, Mischief, Mutual Pining, Sniff has a first name too, Sniff is more cunning than people realize, Snorkmaiden's name is Floren, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws, it never comes up but there it is, snufkin is so done, you'll find out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 12:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20435660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalThespian/pseuds/DigitalThespian
Summary: Little My has a problem.Snufkin is a good listener.Sniff also has a problem.Snufkin is also an exasperated listener.





	In Which Snufkin (For Once In His Life) Is Not The Pining Idiot

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sewing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20000695) by [HellsLittleLiar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellsLittleLiar/pseuds/HellsLittleLiar). 

> So Snorkmaiden is named Floren in the Japanese dub, apparently? I thought it was a book thing. Anyway, I decided that Sniff also has a first name, so.. now he does. I've gone mad with power.

"Snufkin, I think there's something wrong with me." Snufkin jumped, then reeled in his fishing rod and turned to face Little My, who had began the conversation in typical fashion—that is to say, with absolutely no decorum whatsoever.

"Whatever makes you say that? You seem just fine to me; why, only yesterday I saw you pelting Sniff with pebbles from across the river." Snufkin raised a brow. "What was that all about, anyway?"

"That's just it! I keep having this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, and so I decided to throw rocks at Sniff, but then I just felt even worse!" She threw her hands in the air and groaned in frustration. "I actually felt _bad_! About throwing rocks! At _Sniff_!"

Snufkin's other eyebrow joined the first at the top of his forehead. "You never feel guilty about anything; that _does_ seem serious." He stood, and beckoned for Little My to follow him to a nearby tree. This was a 'sit down and talk' sort of conversation.

He sat down, and she plopped herself unceremoniously in his lap. "It started two weeks ago, at the midsummer festival..."

* * *

Little My crept along behind the banquet table; normally she would have been under it, but Moomin was in charge of planning nowadays, and he was wise to her tricks.

So he _custom built_ tables for the occasion that had sides only a few inches away from the tablecloth.

She couldn't even find it in herself to be upset about it; in a way, causing him to go to all that effort just to stop her was mischief in and of itself. She was sort of flattered that he took the looming specter of her mayhem so seriously.

But she was getting distracted. She had a mission: Mrs. Fillyjonk had slighted Moominmamma by speaking ill of her cooking, which was preposterous, Moominmamma was the best cook in the valley--

Right. Mrs. Fillyjonk. Vengeance. She grinned evilly; Mrs. Fillyjonk was standing with her back to the table, foolishly believing herself to be safe, surely Little My couldn't be lurking around, she couldn't get under the table!

BUT! Little My had had a plan; in the days leading up to the festival, she admitted defeat to Moomin—grudgingly—and agreed to help with the festival layout. She had immediately abused her power to make sure the table was on the edge of the party; now all she had to do was make sure no one was on that side, and she had accounted for that, too, should someone walk by. She had suggested they put lanterns or fairy lights along the back edge of the banquet table for mood lighting, or something.

Moomin had accepted gleefully, as she knew he would; he was always a softie for things like that. Now even if someone did walk around to this side, the lights would make her very hard to see if she stayed low to the ground; unless they were actively looking for her, that is. But there was no winning in that case anyway, so she didn't worry too much about it. She reached the end of the table, and pulled her chosen weapon out of her pocket: A small leather pouch that she had filled with stinkbugs.

She slowly leaned over, reaching out to put the pouch in Mrs. Fillyjonk's handbag. When she got home and wondered what it was, she would open it, and all hel-- heck would break loose. Little My was sad that she wouldn't get to see it happen, but she would certainly hear about it.

She inched closer. Slowly.. slowly.. almost there..

Suddenly, Mrs. Fillyjonk laughed, causing the handbag to swing out of reach, and Little My cursed silently. "I _am_ glad that little beast can't hide under the table this year," That's what _you_ think. "but I will admit I am still wary."

The guest she was talked to said something vaguely sympathetic sounding, but Little My was too focused on her task to pay attention to unimportant things like guests trying to butter up the resident snob. "I suppose you're right, it wouldn't hurt to check, would it?"

Little My yanked her hand back, ducking back into hiding. Shit.

* * *

Snufkin glared down at her. "My,"

She scowled, batting his hat off his head. "It's what I thought! It's an honest retelling!"

He picked up his hat, narrowing his eyes. "I suppose I can accept that, but you know how I feel about cursing."

Little My rolled her eyes.

* * *

She scooted back into the shadow of the table; it's good she suggested the lights, she would have been found out otherwise, and she can't afford to get caught. This prank was as much about the uncertainty of when Little My could have possibly have been able to do this as it was about the stinkbugs.

Though that was pretty important too.

She wracked her brain trying to think of a backup plan. She looked around the party, only to see Sniff looking straight at her. He looked at Mrs. Fillyjonk, then back at My, and he nodded once. He marched over, craning his neck to look at.. something, Little My couldn't see what it was. After a moment, he switched his drink to his other hand, veering slightly to the side as he tilted his head even further, and suddenly Little My knew what he was looking at:

Nothing. He was going to 'accidentally' bump into Mrs. Fillyjonk, likely dumping his drink on her in the process. Little My would either have time to plant the pouch in her handbag then, or the distraction would keep them from looking for her.

She made a mental note to thank him later; if there was one thing Sniff was passionate about besides money, it was food. He was probably just as mad as she was about Mrs. Fillyjonk disparaging Moominmamma's cooking.

Just as she had suspected, Sniff crashed into Mrs. Fillyjonk, his drink going all over her coat. What she hadn't expected was the follow-up; he whirled around, apologizing profusely and practically _groveling_. She began to think that maybe he hadn't been doing this on purpose at all, until he adamantly insisted on helping Mrs. Fillyjonk remove her jacket, it would get ruined, and what a terrible thing to happen to such a nice coat--

Little My gagged. Even _her_ taste in fashion was better, Sniff. Then he draped the jacket over the edge of the table.. right over where she was hiding, and the pocket was right there.

Sniff, you clever bastard. Little My was impressed by his acting; even she hadn't been sure if it was really an act or not. She quickly slipped the pouch into the pocket, and looked up to find Sniff making a show of spot-drying the jacket with the tablecloth, which just so happened to completely block the other guests' view of her hiding spot. He shot her a quick glance and winked, so fast she almost didn't see it, then went back to his distraction.

She crept back around the table, dashing out into the dark before circling back to walk up to the fiasco that was currently unfolding. "Sniff, what did you do?"

Sniff jumped, clearly not expecting her to come back to the scene of the crime. You still have much to learn, Sniff. Everyone knows that you don't stay at the scene of the crime, which is why no one would expect her to have done anything; she was _right there_ the whole time, don't you remember?

"I bumped into Mrs. Fillyjonk, and I spilled mulled wine all over her lovely jacket!" Oh man, that was even better; mulled wine was _totally_ going to stain.

"Well, at least you're doing something about it. Way to take ownership of your shortcomings." Little My smirked, and he smirked back, much to her surprise.

"I thought _short_comings were your thing?" She stared in shock. Did _Sniff_ just call her short, _to her face_? It's not like she cared about being short, it was more of the principle of the thing, but still! _Sniff_! Who was normally a coward! And here he was, trading barbs with her and knocking into Mrs. Fillyjonk, putting _himself_ in the line of fire to make sure Little My could pull off her little scheme.

She wasn't sure how she felt about it all. She realized she hadn't answered for a bit, and Sniff had begun to look a bit nervous. "Sorry, was that too far?"

"You've got more guff than I gave you credit for, Sniff. You're alright." She turned on her heel and walked away.

* * *

"And then I started to think about it whenever I heard people talking about 'The Stinkbug Incident' because they always talk about her jacket, and I feel all.. weird. It's like how you feel in your tummy when you jump off something really tall? Or when you first hang upside down?" Little My patted her stomach, then groaned and covered her face. "It's so annoying! How am I supposed to cause trouble if I feel practically ill all the time!"

Snufkin had a sneaking suspicion that he knew _exactly_ why she felt that way, but he kept it to himself for now. "Is that all that happened?"

"No! I've been running into him all over ever since!" She rolled off Snufkin's lap, ending up face-down on the ground.

"He lives in the valley too, you know. Is it really all that strange?" Snufkin smiled to himself.

Abruptly, she pushed herself up to look at Snufkin again. "That's just it! I see him places that I never used to see him before now!"

* * *

Little My stood in the doorway, staring. "I think you could use a contrasting color accent, Floren; your hair is a lovely yellow color, and your gold anklet goes with it, but your eyes are a very stately dark brown, and I think something of a similar color—a pendant, maybe—would look excellent on you."

Why the _fuck_\--

* * *

"My!" Snufkin swatted her shoulder. "Faithful retelling or no, I am drawing the line at that particular curse!"

"Fiine," Little My flopped down onto her back. "You're lucky you're my brother. Where was I? Ah, right,"

* * *

Why the _hell_ was Sniff in Snorkmaiden's living room? And since when was he on a first name basis with her?! "Oh, Little My! I'm so glad you came, I do ever so need your advice." Snorkmaiden beckoned her over, and she obliged.

"What are we planning?" Little My hoisted herself up onto the table the other two were sitting at, simply plopping herself down cross-legged. "And why are we talking about color choices?"

"Oh, Comfrey was just--" Snorkmaiden was cut off.

"Excuse me; _Comfrey_?!" Little My shook her head rapidly. "Are you telling me that 'Sniff' has been a nickname this _entire time_?!"

"I mean.. You never asked, and I've been going by Sniff ever since I was little, but then Floren asked me what it was--" Sniff suffered the same conversational fate that befell Snorkmaiden as Little My interrupted once again.

"And since when are you two on a first name basis!?" Snorkmaiden huffed.

"Well we're trying to tell you, but you keep interrupting!" Little My crossed her arms and frowned, but remained silent. "Thank you. Anyway, Comfrey was helping me with jewelry—you know how much of a knack he has for that sort of thing—" Little My _hadn't_ known that, she had assumed money was as far as his interest went on the subject, but alright. "in order to help me impress Alicia, you remember, the Witch's granddaughter?"

"Oh, yeah." Not at all. "Why would you want to impress her?"

"Because I think she's cute, dummy!" Snorkmaiden blushed. "I want her to think I'm pretty, and perhaps I could ask her on a.. a date,"

Little My gagged. "Why did you want _my_ help with this?"

"Because if _anyone_ can come up with a scheme that someone like Alicia would appreciate, it would be you, My." Sniff's voice was even and sincere, and Little My was unsure how to process the swooping feeling in her stomach—

* * *

Oh, Snufkin was _definitely_ sure he knew what this was about; but Little My needed to figure it out on her own. He simply let her continue, reasoning that with how much she was embellishing and explaining her thought process, it was likely she would get there along the way.

Eventually.

Hopefully.

* * *

She coughed, looking away. "Oh. Well, thank you, or whatever. What do you guys have so far?"

Sniff leaned forward. "We know that Floren wants to dance with her on the beach, but we haven't come up with a way to invite her or what to do to get them there."

Little My found herself slightly envious that Snorkmaiden had permission to use Sniff's real name, then decided that was ridiculous; since when did she need permission to do anything? "Alright, good start, Comfrey," As soon as the word left her mouth, Sniff's eyes grew wide, but then he beamed.

"Thank you!" Little My once again found herself squirming under the intensity of his earnest gratitude; this wasn't like Sniff at all, what was going on here?

"You could show up in the middle of the night and throw pebbles at her window, and then you could sneak away to dance on the beach. You'd even be able to see the stars; you romantic types love that kind of stuff, right?" Little My shrugged. "It worked for Snufkin. Though I don't know where he and Moomin would go after the pebble-throwing part."

"He really did that?! Oh, I am so teasing him about that later," Sniff cackled, and Little My shot him a glare.

"He's my brother, so watch yourself, Sni—Comfrey," Little My cursed herself for stuttering. This was absurd. "Anyway, that's my two cents. I'm getting out of here before you two start discussing anything gross and sappy." She hopped off the table, and walked out of the house.

Dammit, she never did find out how they ended up on a first name basis. Oh well; she was committed to leaving, she would look silly if she went back now.

* * *

Snufkin smiled gratefully; he could handle Sniff's teasing, but it was still nice to have his sister's support. "So seeing him bothers you?"

A few leading questions couldn't hurt.

"Yes! No! Ugh, why is this so confusing! I want to go back to normal!" She rubbed her face with her hands. "That wasn't the worst one, though..."

* * *

Little My was beet red, averting her eyes. Sure, Sniff didn't usually wear clothes, but there was a difference between that and.. _this_.

She had been roaming the forest, collecting acorns to throw at the Park Keeper later, when she found herself fairly close to Sniff's cave. She had run across a small waterfall that fell into a shallow pool, but what had her in such a state was the fact that it seemed to be where Sniff did his bathing.

Like right now, for example.

All she knew was that she was very uncomfortable for some reason, and she couldn't put her finger on why. That and Sniff was significantly _less_ fluff than she had thought he was; with his fur slicked down like that it was very obvious that he was well-built--

* * *

"Oh my stars." Little My groaned and hid her face in her hands. "I have a crush on Comfrey,"

Snufkin smiled to himself. There it was. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Throw more rocks at him?" Little My was uncharacteristically quiet; normally she would sound positively giddy at the thought of causing more trouble.

"You certainly could do that, though I don't think that will resolve anything. If you were anyone else I'd say it was a bad idea, but it's fairly normal behavior for you, so.." Snufkin smirked as Little My huffed and looked up at him.

"Ha, ha. But seriously, Snufkin, what am I going to do? I can't let on that I-- That I--" She struggled to finish her sentence, and Snufkin realized just how dire the situation was.

"That you have feelings for him?" Little My nodded. "Well, you could always, I don't know, tell him? What if he feels the same way?"

She fixed him with an unimpressed look, then sagged. "As if anyone would want the valley's resident gremlin." Whoa, where was _this_ coming from?

"Now My, whatever makes you say that? As a matter of fact, I am inordinately fond of my gremlin sister," He reached out and rubbed her shoulder affectionately, and she gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Snufkin. I just.. I've spent so long not caring about this sort of thing, I don't even know where to _start_," Little My sighed.

Snufkin thought for a moment. "How about this; I'll go talk to Sniff." He saw the look on Little My's face and held up a hand to stop her from interrupting. "I won't tell him anything, I'll just ask how he's been doing and what he's been up to since the festival. If he thinks you've been acting odd, he'll say so. He's not particularly tactful, sometimes."

"..alright. Thanks, Snufkin. Really."

"Anytime, My. I'll support you no matter what. Even if that means you having a big, dumb crush on Sniff,"

"_Snufkin_!"

Ah, the joys of brotherhood.

* * *

"Oh, thank the heavens you're here, Snufkin. I'm in trouble." Sniff waved Snufkin into his cave, and Snufkin shook his head to clear his surprise.

"What's the matter? I just wanted to visit, but you seem to be rather upset," Sniff nodded.

"It's bad, I've really gotten myself into a bind this time. I don't know how I'm going to get myself out of this," Sniff had begun pacing, and Snufkin held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa, easy, Sniff. Start from the beginning."

"Well, it all started to go downhill two weeks ago, at the midsummer festival."

Unbelievable.

You really can't make this stuff up.

* * *

Sniff walked through the party, idly wondering what exactly it was he planned to do here. He didn't exactly have many people to talk to, given that Floren was busy, and that Moomin was off who knows where, probably kissing Snufkin.

* * *

Snufkin flushed, but remained silent. No need to incriminate himself.

* * *

He scanned the crowd, scowling when he saw Mrs. Fillyjonk, but then he saw a small hand reaching for her bag. She swung the bag out of the way at the last second, laughing at something one of the other guests had said. He tuned in to the conversation, his ears turning to face that direction, and he heard the tail end of the other guest's sentence; "should look for her behind the table."

Oh boy. My was going to be found out if he didn't think of something. He locked eyes with her, noting her surprise that she had been seen. He looked at Mrs. Fillyjonk, then back to her, then he nodded to himself. He would just have to distract her, and he knew how he would have to do it. Normally he wouldn't put himself in the path of her ire like this, but..

She insulted Moominmamma's cooking, and that was _unforgivable_. He was behind My all the way. He quickly looked over to the side, moving as though he was going to the banquet table. As an afterthought, he switched his cup to his other hand; initially he had only planned on bumping into her, but he realized spilling his wine on her coat would give him the excuse he needed to keep the distraction going.

He craned his neck further, letting his shift in weight cause him to veer off to the side; straight towards Mrs. Fillyjonk. He steeled himself, preparing for her anger, and then realized that he could use his awkwardness from his younger years to his advantage. If he just never stopped apologizing, she wouldn't have a chance to yell at him. Also he might be able to convince her not to be mad at all, if he hammed it up enough.

He crashed into her, and with a flick of the wrist, he ensured that nearly the entire contents of his cup spilled on her coat. Which was white. And he had been drinking mulled wine.

She was going to actually kill him. He was going to die here.

Well, looks like the apology plan is a go. "Oh my goodness, I am so so sorry, please forgive me! I didn't mean to, I was being careless,"

* * *

"That went on for a little while, I'll spare you the details." Snufkin snorted at that, though he smiled anyway.

More like save himself the indignity.

* * *

Sniff helped her out of her coat, and in a stroke of genius, draped it over the table where he knew Little My was hiding. She could plant that pouch she had been holding, and he could hide her with the tablecloth. It was perfect. He was quite proud of himself. He looked down and shot Little My a wink, then kept 'cleaning' off the coat.

"Sniff, what did you do?" Sniff jumped, not having expected her to come back to the scene of her crime.. Oh, My, you beautiful maniac. You know that one doesn't stay at the scene of the crime, which is why no one is going to expect you to have done anything; she was _right there_ Mrs. Fillyjonk, don't you remember?

"I bumped into Mrs. Fillyjonk, and I spilled mulled wine all over her lovely jacket!" Alright, you're doing well, Sniff, just keep your cool and don't say anything _stupid_\--

"Well, at least you're doing something about it. Way to take ownership of your shortcomings." Little My smirked, and riding the high from his successful scheme—_their_ successful scheme—he smirked back.

"I thought _short_comings were your thing?" She stared at him for a long time, and Sniff began to worry. He just called her short. _To her face_. It's not like she cared about being short, it was more of the principle of the thing, but still! _My_! Who was the absolute terror of all of Moominvalley! And here he was, trading barbs with her and bumping into Mrs. Fillyjonk, putting _himself_ in the line of fire to make sure Little My could pull off her little scheme.

He must have gone insane. His internal panic reached a boiling point, and he spoke up again. "Sorry, was that too far?"

"You've got more guff than I gave you credit for, Sniff. You're alright." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Sniff to stare after her, blushing furiously. Oh.

Oh no. He was doomed, wasn't he?

* * *

Snufkin could not believe these two. "So you've fallen for Little My?"

"Please don't tell her, I'll never hear the end of it," Sniff pleaded, and Snufkin had to bite back a laugh. If only he knew. He _could_ tell him, but he had promised My he wouldn't, and besides..

It was a little funny to watch Sniff panic about something that Snufkin knew—with utter certainty—would work out okay. "I promise I won't say anything to her about your crush,"

Sniff paled. "Oh stars you're her brother,"

Snufkin laughed uproariously, throwing his head back and holding his hat to keep it from falling. "Oh, that's priceless!" He wiped a tear from his eye, looking back at Sniff. "She doesn't need my help; if you hurt her she'll kill you herself."

Sniff had grown very still, and Snufkin wondered if he had perhaps crossed a line, until he noticed the blush dusting Sniff's cheeks. Ah. He admired that particular trait. "Um. Well, uh."

"Relax, Sniff. Why don't you just.. you know, tell her?" Sniff shook his head frantically.

"She hates romance! You know that! Like when I ran into her at Floren's place,"

* * *

"I think you could use a contrasting color accent, Floren; your hair is a lovely yellow color, and your gold anklet goes with it, but your eyes are a very stately dark brown, and I think something of a similar color—a pendant, maybe—would look excellent on you." Snorkmaiden smiled, then looked over at the door suddenly.

"Oh, Little My! I'm so glad you came, I do ever so need your advice." Snorkmaiden beckoned her over; meanwhile, Sniff was internally panicking, trying to keep his cool.

"What are we planning?" Little My hoisted herself up onto the table and plopped herself down cross-legged. "And why are we talking about color choices?"

"Oh, Comfrey was just--" Snorkmaiden was cut off by an exclamation from Little My.

"Excuse me; _Comfrey_?!" Little My shook her head rapidly. "Are you telling me that 'Sniff' has been a nickname this _entire time_?!"

"I mean.. You never asked, and I've been going by Sniff ever since I was little, but then Floren asked me what it was--" Sniff cut himself off as Little My interrupted once again. She really was quite the firebrand, wasn't she?

"And since when are you two on a first name basis!?" Snorkmaiden huffed in response, and Sniff resisted the urge to laugh. While it _was_ funny, he knew it wasn't the time.

"Well we're trying to tell you, but you keep interrupting!" Little My crossed her arms and frowned, but Sniff knew she couldn't be _too_ upset, as she wasn't one to hesitate when she wanted to speak her mind. "Thank you. Anyway, Comfrey was helping me with jewelry—you know how much of a knack he has for that sort of thing—" Sniff was slightly surprised that Little My knew that about him; he had assumed she thought money was as far as his interest went as far as jewelry was concerned. "in order to help me impress Alicia, you remember, the Witch's granddaughter?"

"Oh, yeah." Of course Little My remembered her; he would have expected nothing less from the valley's resident agent of chaos. "Why would you want to impress her?"

"Because I think she's cute, dummy!" Snorkmaiden blushed. "I want her to think I'm pretty, and perhaps I could ask her on a.. a date," If only Sniff could get a date. Maybe, depending on how this conversation went..

Little My gagged. "Why did you want _my_ help with this?"

Well. So much for that. But even still, he knew an opportunity when he saw one.

"Because if _anyone_ can come up with a scheme that someone like Alicia would appreciate, it would be you, My." Sniff put as much affection and sincerity into his voice as he could, but Little My just coughed, looking away. Too much, then. Oh well.

"Oh. Well, thank you, or whatever. What do you guys have so far?" At least he didn't scare her off.

Sniff leaned forward. "We know that Floren wants to dance with her on the beach, but we haven't come up with a way to invite her or what to do to get them there."

Little My paused for a moment with a strange, contemplative look on her face. "Alright, good start, Comfrey," As soon as the word left her mouth, Sniff's eyes grew wide, but then he beamed. He had it bad, and he knew it, and he didn't care; hearing her say his name—his real name—sent a tingle rushing up and down his spine.

"Thank you!" He knew he was acting odd, but he had honestly really stuck his tail in it this conversation, so he had nothing to lose, right?

"You could show up in the middle of the night and throw pebbles at her window, and then you could sneak away to dance on the beach. You'd even be able to see the stars; you romantic types love that kind of stuff, right?" Little My shrugged, and Sniff wondered; for someone who hated romance, she knew an awful lot about how to plan a _very_ romantic outing. "It worked for Snufkin. Though I don't know where he and Moomin would go after the pebble-throwing part."

Oh, that was absolutely priceless! "He really did that?! Oh, I am so teasing him about that later," Sniff cackled, and Little My shot him a glare.

"He's my brother, so watch yourself, Sni-- Comfrey," Little My just went _out of her way_ to make sure she used his real name. He wasn't sure if his heart could take much more. "Anyway, that's my two cents. I'm getting out of here before you two start discussing anything gross and sappy." She hopped off the table, and walked out of the house.

Ah, right. He had lost sight of that personality trait when he was carried away by his daydreams of _her_ throwing pebbles at _his_ window--

* * *

Sniff coughed. "Yes, well, anyway,"

Snufkin raised an eyebrow. "You live in a cave. You don't even _have_ windows,"

Sniff blushed and looked away. "It's the fancy and the romance of the thing, alright?"

"I suppose." Snufkin sighed internally. How was he going to manage this situation?

"Be honest, Snufkin. Should I just give up?" Snufkin was shocked. Was _everyone_ in this valley harboring some deep-seated insecurity?

He supposed he wasn't one to talk, now that he thought about it. "Why would you think you should do that?"

"I-- She's-- She's _Little My_," Sniff made a vague sweeping gesture, as if that helped his previous statement make any more sense.

"Yes, that is an astute observation, Sniff." Snufkin's mouth quirked up on one side. "Forget that I'm her brother and be honest with me and yourself, Sniff."

"She's so.. well, _fiery_," Snufkin snorted, and Sniff stuck out his tongue. "You asked!" Snufkin held up his hands in surrender. Sniff huffed, but continued anyway. "She's not afraid of anything, and she always says what's on her mind, and she's loyal to her loved ones. She likes shiny things as much as I do, albeit for different reasons. She's cunning and clever and witty, and I'm just.. me. Regular old Sniff. Sniff the coward, Sniff the hoarder, Sniff the miser."

Snufkin shook his head. "You fear death; that makes you sane, not a coward. You collect things; but don't both your parents do so too? Your father is one of Moominpappa's favorite people, and he's met a _lot_ of people. You like having money, yes, but who bought out an entire stall at the fair this year so my mother's forty some children could all have candy?"

Sniff was tearing up slightly, and he smiled. "Thanks, Snufkin. You're a good friend."

Snufkin smiled back. "Of course, Comfrey. You'd do the same for any of us."

Sniff's smile grew into a blinding grin. "I'd like to think so." He took a deep breath. "Do you really think I should just tell her?"

Snufkin was taken aback, but he nodded. "I do think it's best to communicate; if Moomin and I had just done that we wouldn't have spent several _years_ dancing around each other."

Sniff nodded sharply, squaring his shoulders. He walked towards the mouth of the cave, and Snufkin tilted his head, trailing behind. "Where are you going?"

"To throw pebbles at Little My's window."

* * *

_Plink._

Little My groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. Her brother had better quit missing Moomin's window--

_Plink._

She swung her legs out of bed, and stormed over to the window, throwing it open. "_Snufkin, I swear_\--" Her voice was a low hiss, but she was interrupted by another pebble hitting her in the forehead.

She stared in disbelief at none other than Sniff, standing with wide eyes and his paws over his mouth. "I'm so sorry! I had already thrown it and then you opened the window--"

"What are you doing here?! It's the middle of the night!" Little My was exasperated. She could hardly fall asleep because of this damnable crush and now the subject of her affections—she gagged at her own choice of words—was waking her up in the middle of the night by throwing pebbles at--

Wait. Throwing pebbles at her window in the middle of the night?

"I.. I wanted to talk to you, and now that I say that it sounds silly, I know, but--" He looked up with a burning determination that was entirely foreign on his face, but Little My couldn't say it wasn't a good look on him. "Little My, will you take a walk with me? I want to tell you something."

There was no way. This was not happening. She was dreaming, she had to be.

She had a moment of realization, and relaxed. She was being silly; this was almost certainly a scheme of some sort, how many times had she done something just like this with Snufkin, or Moomin, or Snorkmaiden? "I'll be right down, let me grab some things."

She ducked back into her room, quickly tossing her pajamas onto her bed and pulling on a well-worn but sturdy dress. She grabbed a lighter, some twine, and a little pocket knife Snufkin had gifted her. Being prepared was half the battle; the other half was running like hell once you were done. She went to leave, but then she stopped and grabbed a ribbon, tying it into a bow in her hair.

Just in case.

She came back to the window and tossed down a rope ladder, scampering down and zipping over to Sniff. "So, Comfrey; what's the plan?"

He tilted his head towards the ocean. "I was hoping to show you something."

This.. wasn't what she had expected, and all the uncertainty came rushing back. "Alright. Lead the way."

The two walked in silence for a while, and before long they had arrived at the edge of the beach. "Comfrey.. Why did we need to do this in the middle of the night, again?"

He took a deep breath—strange—but then he just smiled, saying, "You'll see."

That was cryptic, and not at all nerve-wracking. No sir, she was Little My! The terror of Moominvalley!

She followed him a ways down the edge of the beach, until they got to a dune that rose a bit higher than the rest. "Well.. we're here. What do you think?"

Sniff sounded nervous, more so than his usual. "It's.. a dune."

"Oh, you can't see the top, can you.." Sniff sighed, laughing quietly to himself. "Dumb mistake. I'm sorry."

"What on earth are you even talking about?" She dashed off to see whatever it was that she was so obviously missing, ignoring Sniff's cry of "Wait!". She had had enough of not knowing what was going on.

She crested the dune and stopped dead in her tracks. There was a red and white checkered blanket laid out on top of the dune, complete with a picnic basket.. And a telescope.

Where did he even _get_ a telescope? Little My was reeling; there was no other explanation, right..? This meant that he..

"My!" Sniff caught up, panting and leaning down and resting his paws on his knees. "How- How are you so fast? I'm so much taller, why are you so much faster than I am," He took a deep breath and went to straighten up, only for Little My to catch him by the ears.

"Is this what I think it is?" Little My was looking him straight in the eyes with a deadly serious expression.

He gulped. "..Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't say earlier, I wanted it to be a surprise--"

"You dense, lovable bastard," Little My yanked him in, moving her hands from his ears to drape around his neck. "Comfrey, you are going to kiss me right here, right now."

His eyes widened. "Yes ma'am," He took her face in his paws gingerly, and she scoffed.

"I'm not made of porcelain, Comfrey." He laughed, then smirked at her.

"But you are a work of art, and it'd be a terrible shame to muck it up with my clumsiness." He kissed her gently. "Little My, will you be mine?"

She looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Do you think I go around asking people to kiss me on a regular basis?"

"I'm trying to be romantic, okay?" Sniff pouted.

"Well quit it! I appreciate the effort, but the Comfrey I fell for is the one who braved the wrath of a Fillyjonk in the name of vengeance, not the one who tries to be Casanova," She put her hands on her hips, looking up at him expectantly. "Try again."

"Well, in that case.." He straightened up, walking over and opening the picnic basket to pull out a bundle of twine, a lighter, and a small bowie knife. "Wanna go cause some mayhem?"

"No." Sniff was taken aback, but he was transfixed by the intense look on Little My's face. "Or, yes, later; but right now.."

"Right now I'm going to kiss you senseless," She walked over, slapping the items out of his paws, causing them to fall on the sand beside the blanket. She then grabbed him by the paws and yanked, tipping him over, then scrambled on top of him. "Second try isn't so bad, Comfrey."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say my name." He looked up at her with stars in his eyes—in addition to the reflection of the actual stars.

She leaned down and kissed him. "Well, Comfrey, play your cards right and you'll get a chance to hear it a lot more."

**Author's Note:**

> Also HellsLittleLiar how dare you make me ship this in less than 3000 words

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [stealing diamonds hand in hand](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21848740) by [freesha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freesha/pseuds/freesha)


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